anakin14

grill in the middle of the dash of my C280?? Is it a speaker? Is it a vent??

amdeutsch

Someone give Junior a cookie please.

On a serious note why don't you put your ear to it and tell us what you hear/feel.

patrick_y

It's supposed to be called a "Center Fill Speaker".

anakin14

I don't hear any sound coming out of it and I can't see anything through the grill. Is it a woofer? Is it a regular speaker?? I'm supposed to have an "8 speaker soundsystem" so if that's a speaker, don't I really have 9 speakers??

patrick_y

I don't think it really matters. Just don't spill coffee into it.

versusmd

Is it really that hard to give somebody a straight answer?

From my understanding, if you have the premium sound package then that center console is both a speaker and a vent, just with one cover for styling. But if you dont have the premium sound then there is only a vent underneath.

Buellwinkle

Pull the dash out and look underneath, jeez, people are lazy.

dlkc

not everyone knows how to do it or even dare to do it

sdsilverm3

Are you sure that your SOUND settings are on logic 7 surround and not stereo?

patrick_y

Come to think of it, I have the HK audio system, how many speakers am I supposed to have? The brochure says 12 speakers. I've counted only 11.

1 Center Fill Speaker
1x2 Tweeters On the front Doors (high range)
2x2 Additional Speakers on Front doors (midrange)
1x2 One speaker each on the rear doors (midrange)
2 Rear shelf speakers (1 subwoofer and one other speaker, I assume, not sure about this one).

I think I'm missing one speaker.

sdsilverm3

I think this is how it's supposed to be. I'm not sure since I've never looked behind the door speaker grill.

1 center fill
2 tweeters
4 mids (doors)
4 woofers (doors)
1 Subwoofer (rear deck)

That's right, there's only one sub. If you look underneath your rear deck you'll see that the passenger side of the deck has some type of passive device.

patrick_y

Ahh, that would make sense. Yea, those doors must have some small subwoofers in them, they vibrate excessively.

I believe you're right about that rear shelf only having one subwoofer, since I looked unerneath once and couldn't see very much on one side in particular.

Thanks again. Very good observation.

b3d_sage

hrm.... what's this? Are you saying it's possible to change the premium sound system between stereo and surround??? I've never seen such an option.

amdeutsch

Anything that small does not deserve the "subwoofer" moniker. Midwoofer would be more appropriate if there is such a word.

patrick_y

I meant something that had lower frequencies coming out of it. Seems more sub than mid. I know that there's a big midwoofer in there already.

By the way, you're quite the lexicographer, I'm already using your new word.

rrpnow

i have the 2006 h/k system... either im starting to blow my speakers, or its just the normal sound... they dont sound crisp... or is that just how they come? and i hear a ticking sound out of the front passenger... i think im just going to tell them to look in about 3700 miles (service a) or should i go earlier?

amdeutsch

Can't take credit for that. You better start hanging out on some AV and/or HT forums for accepted terminologies regarding low frequency drivers. A hint; BOSE subwoofer is considered an oxymoron.

patrick_y

I might give that a shot, don't have any problems with my sound system however, just planning to bring it into the dealership to have them tighten the bolts back there to the rattling subwoofer.

Other than that, my audio system is just fine. I don't mind if I'm a tad bit ignorant about it either.

sdsilverm3

I'm not sure what year your car is but I have a 2005 with NAV. There is a SOUND option that allows you to select: Stereo, Speech, or Logic7.

b3d_sage

ahh okay actually I think I remember something along those lines... at least, I remember speech. I don't remember "logic7" though. I have an '01 with the premium sound package.

BleedzMerc

Woah I always thought that was the in dash ice dispenser. Awesome.

patrick_y

Lol

Buellwinkle

Dare to try. Back in the dark ages, in 2001 when the W203 was born, the grille was an annoyingly loud air vent that you controlled with spin wheel in the front part of the vent. Since the dark ages, MB figured out how to make the car cheaper by removing features that people didn't know how to work anyway because nobody read the owners manual. They removed the functioning bits from the grill, but removing the grill completely would have required redoing the dash pad and the purposes of the excersise was to save money so they left the grill, removed the spin wheel and walla, installed a sense of curiosity that was plagued W203 owners since 2003. So don't think of it as a grill, think of it as a blank they put in when you don't order all the options like all the blank buttons on the dash that you have no idea why they are there for or the NO PHONE that shows up in the menus, constant reminders that you cheaped out and didn't get the fully equipped model.

patrick_y

Yea, every single time I scroll through my Trip Computer display, I always see that No Phone thing. Really pisses me off.

I hear that we can now get the voice command system and then plug in this bluetooth "hockey puck" type thing and it will work witha ll bluetooth compatible phones. Probably isn't worth the $1000 and the extra phone bills to do this though. Besides, I don't talk on the phone that much anyways.

anakin14

when I test drove the car I asked the sales person what the grill in the dash was and he responded "hmm, well, its part of the, urg, hmmm, Hey!, don't you just ove the way this car handles??".